5 Tips to Stay Motivated During Your Job Search

It's another day in your job search, and you've clicked the apply button so many times today that you just can't click it anymore. Your motivation has waned; you can't keep doing this any longer, especially since all you've received is radio silence or rejection. We have all been there before. It is a draining cycle, one you feel you might not get out of. Trying to revive your motivation once you hop on that train is difficult, but is necessary to push through to the next day.

Use these five tips to help you get motivated again.

1. Give yourself targets

   It's hard to stay motivated in your job search if you're going through the same mundane tasks day in, day out. One of the best ways to deal with this is to give yourself targets or personal goals you want to hit in a day, week, month. By giving yourself targets, you can visually see your accomplishments on paper. Seeing these accomplishments will help motivate you as you go through the process of searching for a job. You will start to feel like your search is going somewhere.

2. Maintain a reasonable schedule

   Understandably, you want a new job now and fast. However, it doesn't always work out in that way. A job search could take longer than a few months, maybe even a year. Creating a schedule for yourself ensures that you're not going to burn out by the end of the day. Spending eight hours looking for a job on job boards, LinkedIn, etc. can put you into a slump quickly Giving yourself a schedule will not only motivate you, but also give job boards time to refresh with new opportunities for you to apply to.

3. Deal with rejection constructively

   Rejection is the best way for your motivation to fizzle out. Being rejected from a job that you knew you'd be a perfect fit for is horrible. Naturally, you will feel disheartened but don't take the rejection personally. Instead, use this as a way to ask for feedback so that you can improve for future interviews.

4. Surround yourself with positivity

   When things start to go awry, it's natural for you to start to feel negatively about your job search, and other things going on in your life. It is important for you to surround yourself with positive people, who can motivate you to continue pushing through those bad days. Surrounding yourself with negative people will only enhance those gloomy feelings, which will eventually transfer to your job search. This can be detrimental, as you will begin to lose hope, which is the last thing you want to do.

5. Give yourself a day off and be social

   Taking a day off might seem ludicrous if you've been job hunting for a year with no luck, but you need to do it. Take the down-time because it is necessary for you to step away from your search to clear your head. Stay in touch with your friends and family. They will be able to offer you a different perspective on your job search or possibly put you into contact with someone they might know. When you come back to your job search, you'll feel rejuvenated to continue the process.

It is easy to fall into a slump while searching for a job. However, with these five tips, you can work your way to feeling motivated about the prospects of your job search in order to land yourself that dream job.